Monthly Archives: February 2021

What’s happening? New Mexico HB 10 (2021 | NM) will expand broadband through a new state broadband office inside the State Department of Information Technology. Why is this important? New Mexico sees an opening in that no state entity tracks investments or coordinates activities related to broadband between government agencies How will this be important? […]

What’s happening? VA and UT tested voted by mobile phone and iPad during the November 2020 election. The voters included in this mobile voting pilot included military members stationed overseas and people with disabilities. Why is this important? Some say the only secure elections are paper ballot elections. How will this be important? A procurement […]

What’s happening? Miami City commissioners are studying the use of bitcoin for salaries, city services and contracts. Why is this important? More governmental entities are opening up to the concept of transacting business in bitcoin. How will this be important? Bitcoin isn’t going anywhere anytime soon Miami Herald | Miami Considers Using Bitcoin for Salaries, […]

What’s happening? 18.5% of Iowa has access to internet. Expanding this has been the focus of  Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds. Her broadband access proposal includes $450 million in state funding combined with private sector funds and grant money made available through the Federal Communications Commission. HSB 133 (2021 | IA) Why is this important? Broadband […]

214% increase in cyber attacks on healthcare over 2019 4 of 5 cyberattacks on healthcare were committed by criminal enterprises  The SolarWinds cover attack resulted in 18,000 clients of SolarWinds downloading the ransomeware CQ Roll Call. | Cyberattacks Surged in 2020, Mostly Hitting Health Care

What’s the deal? HB 80 (2021 | UT) creates an affirmative defense for businesses that follow national guidelines for data security and are hacked, potentially exposing sensitive personal data. Why is this important? Affirmative Defenses, Liability protections are growing. OH started it back in 2019. How will this be important? Those 2020 electoral maps were […]

What’s the deal? Washington State recently created the Office of Cybersecurity and now it’s beefing up its powers by adding the ability to create best practices for safely storing sensitive data by all state offices and agencies. Why is this important? SB5432 (2021 | WA) will be the first major extension of power for this […]

What’s the deal? Michigan has released an app, Michigan Secure, which will alert users if their devices  have suspicious activity. Why should we care? The state is expressly not collecting data with the app. How can this impact me? Its going to impact everyone. The App is the brainchild of Former Michigan Chief Security Officer […]

What’s the deal? Body cameras are the norm for law enforcement. California is paying for body cameras for corrections officers to gain transparency on the treatment of disabled prisoners. Its the result of a lawsuit alleging mistreatment of disabled prisoners. Why should we care? Transparency. Everyone loves calling for it. For the state of California […]

What’s the deal? Hackers gained access to the city of Oldsmar, Florida’s water treatment system and increased the level of sodium hydroxide, also known as lye, by a factor of more than 100. Why should we care? The process affirms the vulnerability of systems we rely on but also highlights the need for internal checks and […]